James Hayward (September 22, 1943 – April 16, 2026) was an American contemporary abstract painter who lived and worked in Moorpark, California. Hayward's paintings are usually divided in two bodies of work: flat paintings (1975–1984) and thick paintings (1984–2026). He worked in series, some of which were re ongoing, and include The Annunciations, The Stations of the Cross, the Red Maps, Fire Paintings, Smoke Paintings, Sacred and Profane, and Nothing's Perfect series.Colpitt 2007, p.13.

Education and teaching Hayward got his Bachelor of Arts at San Diego State University, San Diego, California, studied in the Graduate art program at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) from 1966 to 1969 and got his Master of Fine Arts at the University of Washington, Seattle in 1972.Hickey, Colpitt, Smith, 2007, p.131.

Taught: 1994–2012 – Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, CA, Graduate Art Programs 1999 – University of California, Los Angeles (winter quarter) 1997 – University of Texas at San Antonio (guest artist / fall semester) 1992–1995 – University of California, Los Angeles 1987 – University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA (guest artist / spring quarter) 1985 – College of Creative Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara 1983 – University of California, Berkeley, CA (guest artist) 1980 – Minneapolis College of Art & Design, Minneapolis, Minnesota (guest artist) 1979 – California State University, Bakersfield (guest artist) 1976–1978 – College of Creative Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA

Writing In 2010, Hayward produced a book of short stories entitled Indiscretion: Selected Stories, based on his reminiscences, "war stories" as his close friend artist Ed Moses called them. Writing in The Huffington Post, Gordy Grundy fescribed it as "a chronicle of a ribald life in the arts as well as a glimpse of SoCal living".

Exhibitions Hayward exhibited extensively, particularly in California, from his first show solo show in 1976. He exhibited at historically significant galleries such as Claire S. Copley Gallery, Riko Mizuno Gallery and Rosamund Felsen Gallery and Roberts Projects in Los Angeles and Sidney Janis Gallery in New York, and his work has been included in museum exhibitions in institutions such as the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Hirshhorn Museum, Washington D.C., The Renaissance Society At The University Of Chicago, and the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) in London, England. among others. Through the 1990s and 2000s he exhibited extensively at Modernism, San Francisco and Ace Contemporary Exhibitions in Los Angeles. Artist Mike Kelley curated a solo exhibition of his work in 2005 at the Cue Art Foundation in New York calling Hayward "one of the few truly important West Coast Painters." Also in 2005, critic and educator Dave Hickey included his work in a curated show entitled Step into Liquid, at the Ben Maltz Gallery, Otis College of Art and Design, Los Angeles.

Hayward's work was included in "Under the Big Black Sun" at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, curated by Paul Schimmel in 2011. A solo exhibition of his work was mounted at Richard Telles Fine Art, in Los Angeles titled James Hayward Paintings from the 70's in conjunction with the Getty's Pacific Standard Time in 2011. Meanwhile, Hayward's Annunciation paintings, were displayed in the solo exhibition Variations on the Annunciation at Meliksetian | Briggs in Los Angeles in 2013.

Death Hayward died on April 16, 2026, at the age of 82.

Works in institutional and museum collections Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, California San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, California Los Angeles County Museum of Art, California Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio Albright-Knox Gallery, Buffalo, New York San Jose Museum of Art, San Jose, California Minneapolis Institute of the Arts, Minneapolis, Minnesota Denver Museum of Modern Art, Denver, Colorado Orange County Museum of Art, Newport Beach, California Laguna Beach Museum of Art, Laguna Beach, California University Art Museum, Santa Barbara, California Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami, Florida Weisman Museum of Art, Pepperdine University, Malibu, California Anderson School of Business, University of California, Los Angeles, California

Honors and awards 1977 – Young Talent Award, Los Angeles County Museum of Art 1981 – Japan-United States Creative Arts Fellowship 1983 – John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship 1991 – Awards in the Visual Arts 10 Grant 1993 – National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship 1996 – Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant

References

Sources

Carlson, Ben. James Hayward At Richard Telles Fine Art, Artforum, February 2012 Vol. 50, No. 6, P. 235. Schimmel, Paul (Editor), Mark, Lisa Gabrielle (Editor), Colpitt, Frances (Contributor), Crow, Thomas (Contributor), Desmarais, Charles (Contributor), Under the Big Black Sun; California Art 1974-1981, Prestel Publishing, 2011. Colpitt, Frances. Marks And Movement: Five Painters, catalogue, Barrett Art Gallery, Santa Monica, CA, 2011. Pagel, David. Take Pleasure In Monochrome, Los Angeles Times. April 11, 2008 P.E19 Baker, Kenneth. James Hayward Pursues A Kind Of ‘Pure Painting’ San Francisco Chronicle, September 15, 2007 P. E1. Frank, Peter. James Hayward. Artus, Issue 17 March–April 2007, P. 28. Melrod, George. James Hayward: Monster Of Monochrome, Art Ltd, January 200 P. 38 to 45. Hickey, Dave, Colpitt Frances, Smith Jason. James Hayward Works 1975-2007. Modernism Inc., 2007. Knight, Christopher. Just Going With The Flow, Los Angeles Times, January 14, 2006 P. E 2. Colpitt, Frances & Gilbert-Rolfe. Jeremy, Monster Of Monochrome, Mandarin Press, Los Angeles 2006. Kelley, Mike. James Hayward, catalogue, Cue Art Foundation, New York, 2005. Knight, Christopher. Earthly Creators Find The Divine In Their Details, Los Angeles Times, August 11, 2004, P. E1. Pagel, David. Celebrating Paint’s Physicality, Los Angeles Times, August 1, 2003, Calendar. Hickey, Dave, Pagel, David and Scanlan, Joe. Plane/Structures, catalogue, The Fellows Of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA 1994. Colpitt, Frances. Mapping, catalogue, The University Of Texas, San Antonio, 1994. Colpitt, Frances. In Plain Sight: Abstract Painting In Los Angeles, catalogue. Blue Star Art Space, San Antonio, Texas 1994. Rutter, Virginia S, Kopf, Vicki, Fleming, Jeff. Awards In The Visual Arts 10, catalogue, Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art, 1991. Plous, Phylis & Colpitt, Frances. Abstract Options, catalogue, The National Endowment For The Arts, 1989.

External links JAMES HAYWARD INTERVIEW SPRING 2026 James Hayward by Telluride Gallery